Film

The Mothman Prophecies (2001)

Director: Mark Pellington

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Driving home, the wife of John Klein (Gere) crashes after seeing a vision. Following her death (from a 'temporal lobe tumour'), Klein, a Washington Post journo, discovers indecipherable, even 'possessed' drawings which hauntingly suggest the depth of her mute terror. Only years later, however, in a small town in West Virginia, does Klein begin to suspect a supernatural agency may be at work. Investigating with the help of local policewoman Connie (Linney), he uncovers a history of unexplained local events, the sinister nature of which is compounded by a series of anonymous, mocking phone calls boasting knowledge of future disasters. Director Pellington showed in Arlington Road that he can be a mischievous miner of paranoia and atmospherics. There are certainly strong moments and efficient set pieces here, too, but for all the claims that the film, adapted from a 1975 book by John Keel, is based on real events, Pellington fails to sustain credibility. The romance, too, seems tacked on, the ending predictably neat.

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